LSO/Gergiev

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Gunfire, sirens, five accordions, a voluminous chorus singing Stalin’s deathless prose: this could only be Prokofiev’s Cantata for the Twentieth Anniversary of the October Revolution, the noisiest musical gargoyle in history. Or so it seemed on Thursday, as Valery Gergiev concluded his Stravinsky/Prokofiev/Debussy LSO series with a humungous display of sweat, raw energy, and decibel power. I wonder how it sounded in capitalism’s bosom, the Broadgate Arena, relayed live as part of the Barbican’s 25 birthday.

Maryinsky Theatre voices shared the stage, but the bulk remained the London Symphony Chorus, soaring through Communist Party bromides with the unembarrassed panache of